Welcome to Fifth Grade!

November 29, 2009

I hope that you all had a very happy Thanksgiving! I would like to take this time to say how thankful I am for the students and families who make Saint Ignatius such a great place. I am flying back from a visit with my family in Albuquerque, New Mexico so I will not be in on Monday. Tuesday is the Advent Giving Mass at 7:30 in Church. On Thursday, Fr. Taglianetti will come to visit our class at 12:45 to talk about Confirmation. We will also begin studying Advent and preparing for Christmas. Friday we will have Mass at 11:00 in Church- all are welcome. Grades close this Friday, and report cards will be issued Friday December 11th. Please remember to turn in the DARE graduation forms that went home before Thanksgiving. Have a great week, please let me know if you need anything.

November 22, 2009

Our field trip was great; thank you to all the parents who were able to join us. This week is a short week. On Wednesday we will have a small party at 8:45, a prayer service at 11:15 in church, and dismissal at 12:00. Parents are welcome to join us for the party and prayer service. I wish you a very safe and happy Thanksgiving! Please let me know if you need anything.

November 15, 2009

Here is what's going on in fifth grade: I hope that all of the students are ready for our trip tomorrow! Tuesday is gym day, so if you atteneded the Home and School meeting and your child earned a dress down day, Wednesday would be a good day to dress down. Thursday at 9:30 AM the Philadelphia Zoo will present an assembly in the gym; parents are welcome to attend. I am in the process of rescheduling conferences- I apologize for the inconvenience. We played kickball as a class last Monday and had a good time. We also will begin the study of confirmation this week. Jonathan has been selected as our student council classroom rep- congratulations Jon! Sunday is Turkey Bingo at 2:00 PM in the auditorium; I hope to see you there! I have created a new page with a weekly calendar with events and activities that are coming up as well as reminders for gym and library days- check it out!

November 8, 2009

The fifth grade did an excellent job putting together the Mass last Friday! Congratulations to Justin and Callie for being named student of the month for consideration and taking initiative. This month, we are working on being dependable and compassionate. This week, we will have our religion test on Thursday (I am pushing it back a few days due to Mass rehearsal). There is no school on Wednesday and due to emergency water repairs, conferences are canceled. For my conferences, I am available before school from 6:30 to 8:00 and after school from 3:30 until 6:00 most days- please let me know and I will reschedule at your convenience. This is a major inconvenience especially if you had to take off work, and I apologize. This work, however, is necessary to ensure that are building is in good condition to serve us for many years to come. Thursday at 7:00 PM in the cafeteria is a general meeting of the Home and School Association. All families are encouraged to attend; free babysitting through the CARES program will be provided. Picture day is Friday- please be in winter uniforms and turn in picture envelopes by Friday. Our class trip is next Monday. If you have not sent in payment, please do so ASAP so that I can pay for the bus. The students will need to wear their winter uniforms, but will not need to pack a lunch. We will leave Saint Ignatius by 9:00 and should return around 2:00. Have a great week!

November 1, 2009

We had our Halloween party on Friday- thank you all for your contributions and to Mrs. LaMorte, Mrs. Belinsky, and Mrs. Gallagher for putting on a fun afternoon. Please remember to turn in the field trip permission forms and payments ASAP so that I can send in the check to the bus company. The date on the permission slip (Nov 16th) is the correct date NOT November 11th which I put in the letter by mistake. This week we are going to Mass tomorrow at 9:00 AM for All Soul's Day, and will be putting together the Mass on Friday for 11:00 AM. At this Mass will also be the installation of the Student Council, Safeties, and the Junior National Honor Society and the awards for student of the month; all are welcome to attend. We have a religion test over Baptism on November 10th and will start our unit on Confirmation after that. Also, please keep in mind that on conference day (November 11th), the water will be turned off in the school for repair work. It will be a little inconvenient for that day, but it ensures that we do not have to close school and affect the students in order for this necessary work to be performed. Have a great week!

October 25, 2009

Progress reports were sent home on Friday; please sign and return them after you have had a chance to review them. Also, please remember to send in the counselor permission forms ASAP so that we can begin our lessons with our school counselor. We are working to build a culture of respect in fifth grade- each student has much to offer to the class, and I want to work to make sure that everyone is appreciated, that we work as a team to build each other up and never put each other down, and that every child enjoys coming to school.

For this week, we have a Pep Rally at 1:30 in the auditorium for the Phillies. The students are welcome to dress down in Phillies gear if they bring in a canned good or nonperishable food item. That's it for the week! If you would like to schedule a conference or if you can't make your scheduled time, please let me know so that I can make the necessary arrangements.

With children being out sick, please be assured that we are taking precautions in the classroom. I am washing the desks with disinfectant in the morning before the children come to school, we are wiping them down before we go to lunch, and we are cleaning them in the afternoon. We are also wiping down surfaces such as doorknobs through the day. The classroom has hand sanitizer stations and the students are asked to use these when they use a tissue, come in to class, and before lunch. Please assure your children that their teachers will work with them when they return from school; their most important task is to get well! I will not be sending home Spanish and religion work, I will catch them up when they return. Please let me know if you have any questions. Have a great week; go Phillies!

October 18, 2009

I hope everyone in fifth grade had a great weekend!   As the weather turns cooler, please make sure that your child has a coat as we try to go outside for recess whenever it is not raining or snowing. This week, we are going to church for adoration during 40 hours on Monday and Tuesday. Fr. Taglianetti will be visiting us to talk about baptism on Thursday. I will be out at a workshop on Wednesday, and the students are prepared to work on an assignment for religion and their Saint trading cards in computer. Friday is the touching safety lesson during religion class. I am working on scheduling conferences and will be sending home a schedule along with the letter for the field trip later this week. Have a great week! Thank you all for being a part of the Saint Ignatius family.

October 11, 2009

Congratulations to Tyler and Christie who are our September students of the month! This month, we are working on initiative and consideration. The students of the month for October will be announced at First Friday Mass on November 6th; we are preparing this Mass, and everyone is invited to attend.

This week we will have our first Spanish test, and we begin the study of Baptism and Confirmation. I will also be sending home information about our first field trip as soon as I have the date finalized. We also have an assembly coming from the Franklin Institute on Thursday at 9:30 AM which you are welcome to join us for, and a reminder that there is no school on Tuesday.

Conference forms have been sent home with the youngest child in each family. I am not requesting any conferences at this time, but welcome you to come in for a conference or to request one by phone to check in and see how things are going. Written progress reports will be issued on October 23rd, and conferences will take place on November 11th.

If you have any questions or concerns please contact me. I hope that your child and you are enjoying the 5th grade at Saint Ignatius. If there is anything I can do, please let me know. I also remind you that you are welcome to join us for the Rosary on Friday at 8:50 AM.

-Mr. Merrick

October 1, 2009

We have been in school almost a month and things are moving along well. Starting Monday, the students will not be allowed to return to homeroom to retreive forgotten items- they have been doing very well with packing and organization, and I am very proud of them! DARE has begun; please return the DARE form if you have not already. A permission slip will be coming home soon for some sessions with our school counselor. She will be coming in 4-6 times through the year to talk to us about the transition to middle school and the academic and social issues involved. Finally, to honor our Blessed Mother during the month of the Rosary, we will be praying the Rosary in front of the statue out front on Fridays during the month of October. You are welcome to join us; we will begin around 8:50 and pray the Sorrowful Mysteries. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me- rmerrick@sischool.org or 215-493-3867. Thank you for entrusting your child's education to Saint Ignatius,

-Mr. Merrick

September 24, 2009

It was very nice to see and talk to everyone this evening. If you ever have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me rmerrick@sischool.org. I hope that all is going well and that everyone has a great weekend. I will send home the DARES dates as soon as we know them. Our First Friday Masses will by November 6th and June 4th.

September 20, 2009

Thank you for returning all the beginning of the year paperwork. If you haven't turned in the technology forms, please do so ASAP so that we can get the emergency contact system up to date. We have an assembly this week at 9:30 in the gym, and Back to School Night is Thursday evening beginning at 7:00 PM in the auditorium. Have a great week!

September 13, 2009

Thank you, fifth grade, for a great first week! Also, thank you all for sending in your emergency cards and coming prepared for class everyday. Remember that we have gym on Tuesdays and that you should come in your gym uniform. We will go to Confession on Tuesday morning, and we will also have our first computer class on Wednesday.

September 4, 2009

It was very nice to see you on Meet Your Teacher Day. As I mentioned, please fill out the emeregency card and return it on the first day of school, and the schedule that I gave you is your copy to keep at home. The stationary prices are as follows:

Blue Bag- 7.00

Portfolio Folder- 6.00

Assignment Pad- 2.00

Please send in payment for these items in a an envelope during the first week of school. If you have any questions, please email me. Enjoy the last few days of summer, and I'll see you on Wednesday!

August 29, 2009

The supply list says to purchase two theme tablets. These may be ordered through school. Theme tablets are notebooks that the students can tear out of when they need loose paper. In place of theme tablets you can send in two packages of loose leaf paper.

August 22, 2009:

The blue portfolios, blue bags, and copybooks are avaliable at school. The portfolio and blue bag need to be purchased through school, but the copybooks can be bought at any store- you can probably buy them at the store for less than at school. Any color is fine as long as they are the marble bound copybooks.

Also, with the state budget issues, school book orders in Pennsylvania will probably not be arriving until October. For fifth grade, all this means is that we will not be receiving our workbooks until later in the first trimester; we have all of our textbooks already, and the fifth grade teachers have plenty of extra materials and activities to use in the meantime.

We are all back at school working along with Mrs. Di Tommaso and Mrs. Doyle to get ready for a great school year! See you soon.

July 19, 2009

I hope that you are having a great summer. I have posted the supply list and school calendar here on the webpage and will also post your schedule once we have it worked out. Parents, if you have any questions please feel free to email me.

If you need any of the summer reading materials, please call (215-493-3867) or email (siprincipal@sischool.org) Mrs. Di Tommaso at school; you can pick them up or she can mail them to you.

I am looking forward to a great year! Enjoy the rest of your summer, and I'll see you on Meet Your Teacher Day which will be on September 3rd from 10:00 to 11:30.

-Mr. Merrick